Kennesaw State’s Interfraternity Council posed a permanent ban on all alcohol that exceeds more than 15 percent alcohol by volume at events where one or more of its member fraternities are present.
KSU’s IFC imposed the policy for its 12 active member fraternities on Friday, March 1, in support of the North American Interfraternity Conference, according to a policy update. The NIC imposed a deadline for its member fraternity councils to enact this ban on hard alcohol by November — six months after KSU’s IFC imposed the policy.
KSU’s IFC said that the only exception to this permanent ban includes events where alcohol is served by a state-licensed third-party vendor, according to the policy update. This ban will be enforced at parties, mixers, socials and tailgates, and it will apply to “any location where such an event could be held where a third-party is not serving the alcohol,” according to the policy update.
Members of the IFC executive board will be welcomed at all of its member fraternities events to observe whether or not they are adhering to this change, according to the policy update. The IFC will also accept any photographic or video evidence that proves that the policy is not being upheld, and it will take the evidence into consideration by the IFC judicial board and the vice president of standards for further investigation.
Once a complaint or evidence is submitted, it is directed to the coordinator of Fraternity and Sorority Life to decide further action by following the judicial processes outlined in the IFC Constitution and Bylaws.
KSU’s IFC President Dalton Ford said that this policy change has been in the works for about two months to ensure the safety of members and guests at events.
“We’re not trying to restrict what anybody does to relieve stress or have fun, but we just want it to be safe,” Ford said. “This is the easiest way to do it with a set guideline. We want to hold each other accountable.”
Ford emphasized that members of fraternities at KSU have a good reputation of holding each other accountable at events or parties, and he said that might not be the case at other schools.
“We wanted to adopt this policy that every fraternity would have to follow, from the national level anyway, but tweak it to more fit our campus,” Ford said. “This is us trying to show the school and the public that we do hold each other accountable to these standards, and we’re not just here to party. We do things for the community, and we do care about each other a lot.”
Ford said that he has faith in all the members of fraternities and sororities here at KSU right now, but it is always important to think of the future members and the change they will bring to their respective organizations. Ford hopes these future generations “will be just as good, if not better,” than the current members.
